This invention relates generally to building construction, and more particularly to construction utilizing a reusable, inflatable form upon which there is applied a cementitious material to form a structure which may be a building or a part thereof.
In the past building construction, utilizing inflatable forms over which a cementitious material is applied, had predominantly been of circular cross section, domed or of a generally spherical configurations. These limitations were imposed partially to take advantage of the structural integrity of the shapes, and also because of the ease of construction of the inflatable form and the resultant structure. Variations in dimensional integrity were offset by the lowered construction costs; however, the avoidance of conventional construction building designs was dictated by the unavailability of inflatable forms which could maintain straight sided walls, where desired. When inflation pressures were required to support a heavy load of the cementitious material, the wall and/or ceiling areas would bow. For multistoried buildings domed construction inhibited the effectiveness of a straight structure to define both the ceiling of the lower story and the floor of the upper story.
Public acceptance of igloo type structures, curved outer walls of a building and other shapes that diverge from the conventional square or rectangular configurations has been dismal. However, there is a dire need for the economical, quick, efficient, structurally sound type of construction afforded by structures using inflatable forms in order to accomodate the world-wide population shifts and the attendant increased housing and industrial construction requirements. None of the prior art proposals have enabled the production of conventionally shaped buildings with the inflatable form technique, because of the failure of the industry to produce low cost forms of conventionally acceptable design with structural and dimensional integrity.